POPSUGAR Celebrity

DIY Geek: Death Star Halloween Costume

Oct 28 2010 - 12:00pm

The first time Sugar engineer Tod Orbach made his Death Star costume (for Comic-Con 2002), the results were amazing! Sadly, the original was destroyed, but luckily he decided to remake his masterpiece this year. While you may have seen other Death Star costumes [1], trust me, nothing compares to this one.

Check out these step-by-step instructions for making a (fully operational!) Death Star of your own.

Step 1: Find and inflate a giant beach ball

Inflate a large beach ball (Tod found his by Googling "giant beach ball"), or check beachballs.com [2].

Step 2: Cut strips of newsprint paper to cover half of the ball

Tod recommends using newsprint, not old newspapers, to avoid ink stains. Tape the strips to each other and into place — careful not to tape them to the ball.

To prop the ball and keep it from rolling, use full water bottles or put it in a cardboard box.

Step 3: Use a glue mixture to start

Tod recommends a mixture of two parts Elmer's glue and one part water. Brush strips of newsprint with glue, and attach to the crown of strips you've taped into place. Tod recommends four to five layers of these strips. Careful not to get any glue on the ball!

Step 4: Reinforce

After the initial newsprint layer, cover with Rigid Wrap [3], a fast-drying plaster gauze. Allow to dry overnight. Repeat this process for the bottom half of the costume.

Step 5: Remove the ball

Once dry, remove the beach ball and cut into a half-sphere. Cut a hole for your head and another for your legs. Clean the insides.

Step 6: Create the indented circle

Cut a circle out of the top half of the costume and use cardboard to create a cone for the Death Star's indentation. Tod recommends using hot glue to affix the cone to the costume. If you're planning to use green silly string to mimic a laser, cut a small hole in the cone.

Step 7: Paint

Start with black paint to create the illusion of a properly shaped Death Star.

Continue painting

Mix black and white paint to fill in the rest of the costume, shading as necessary. Tod also used some blue to create the desired effect.

Step 8: Fashion the costume

Use six picture frame hangers to connect the two halves of the costume. Hot glue the hangers onto the Death Star, and secure with clear packing tape.

It's best to put the costume together before wearing it. Place it on the floor on its side and crawl inside.

Success!

For maximum effect, use green silly string to mimic the Death Star's laser. Keep in mind you may not fit through doors and you won't have full use of your hands. Plus, the Death Star is not waterproof.